Chapter 153 She Has Not Lost

The Imperial Guards, clad in heavy armor, surrounded Yun Ming and the other two.

Xuanhan Ran's gaze grew dark as she watched the Imperial Guards close in on Lu Yanran and Yun Ming. She had originally assumed that Huangfu Xi was the one who had summoned them.

However, as the ranks of heavy armor encircled them, they suddenly and uniformly wheeled around, aiming their long spears directly at her position.

Realizing something was terribly wrong, Xuanhan Ran knew her son Huangfu Xi was supposedly dead to the world as emperor; he was in no position to command the Imperial Guards.

It was Feng Jinye.

No wonder the troops stationed outside the east gate had remained motionless—they had never intended to mount a siege at all.

Looking at the ranks of heavily armored Imperial Guards, Xuanhan Ran’s lips curved into an icy smile, sharp as shattering frost, its chill piercing straight to everyone’s heart.

In her eyes, thousands of Imperial Guards were nothing more than a swarm of ants.

Twenty-seven years ago, she had single-handedly wiped out the Xuanhan family.

Today, she could just as easily annihilate Feng Jinye's thousands of troops.

Consumed by burning fury, Xuanhan Ran suddenly realized that not a single assassin from the Twilight Pavilion was in sight.

Half an hour earlier, just as Xuanhan Ran left the imperial palace for the eastern watchtower, Feng Jinye and Weishao Qianyu had emerged from a secret passage within the palace.

This time, with no Huangfu Chen and Dong Nuan to coordinate, Weishao Qianyu and Feng Jinye were spotted the moment they appeared, and assassins from the Twilight Pavilion immediately swarmed in to surround them.

The very moment Xuanhan Ran departed the palace, Night Eleven and Night Ten had rallied all the shadow guards and rushed toward the Everlasting Brightness Palace.

Within a mere half-hour, the imperial palace was whipped into a frenzy, and a brutal slaughter had already begun.

Xuanhan Ran had fallen into her own trap. The wedding of Huangfu Chen and Dong Nuan had proceeded methodically yet at an excruciatingly slow pace, successfully diverting her attention.

Feng Jinye’s straightforward and ruthless strategy today was designed precisely for this: during the half-hour when Xuanhan Ran left the palace for the watchtower, and before she realized anything was amiss, he would sweep the Twilight Pavilion clean and eradicate the bulk of her power.

Even if Feng Jinye were to die today, even if all of them were to perish here, and even if Xuanhan Ran survived...

The Twilight Pavilion would cease to exist once and for all.

In an instant, Xuanhan Ran pieced together the myriad of subtle details. Gritting her teeth, she forced out a few venomous words: "A brilliant hand, Feng Jinye."

"Splendid," Xuanhan Ran said coldly. Infusing her voice with internal energy, her chilling words echoed across the entire imperial city: "Grand Preceptor Feng, this Grand Preceptor is waiting for you to come, so you can watch these people die one by one right before your eyes!"

"Just as Xuanhan Yuan watched every single member of the Xuanhan family die before hers twenty-seven years ago!"

Inside and outside the Everlasting Brightness Palace, bloody carnage unfolded. Eager to end the battle swiftly, Feng Jinye moved like a rakshasa from the abyss. Weishao Qianyu could barely trace his movements as he ended his enemies' lives; wherever his shadow fell, the assassins of the Twilight Pavilion perished in the blink of an eye.

Hearing Xuanhan Ran’s venomous voice, Feng Jinye’s gaze grew even more piercing. He swept an arm around Weishao Qianyu’s waist, dodged a sweeping scimitar from an opponent, and cleanly ended the attacker's life with a single stroke of his sword.

As Xuanhan Ran’s voice reverberated, everyone froze in their tracks.

Inside and outside the Everlasting Brightness Palace, blood flowed like a river, turning the once-clear warm waters of the courtyard pool entirely crimson.

Only a handful of Twilight Pavilion assassins remained. Gathering together, they retreated step by step toward the Hall of Sacred Brilliance.

Watching their opponents fall back as if summoned, both Feng Jinye and Weishao Qianyu felt their hearts sink.

After the fierce and grueling battle, both teams of shadow guards had fought to the limit. Night Eleven, Night Ten, and the remaining shadow guards were completely exhausted.

With a dark expression, Feng Jinye instructed Night Ten to stay behind with the two teams to rest and regroup, but when he turned his gaze to Weishao Qianyu, hesitation flickered in his eyes.

"Qianqian..." Feng Jinye barely uttered her name before Weishao Qianyu interrupted with resolute determination: "I am going with you."

Feng Jinye remained silent.

Taking his silence as consent, Weishao Qianyu turned to look at the crowd of wounded behind her. Only Night Eleven was free of severe injuries, though even he bore multiple gashes.

"Eleven, continue searching the palace for any trace of Huangfu Xi."

Just as Weishao Qianyu delegated the search for Huangfu Xi to Night Eleven, Night Ten dropped heavily to his knees with a thud, pleading earnestly, "This subordinate dares to implore Your Highness the Princess not to accompany His Highness!"

Startled, Weishao Qianyu looked on as the severely wounded shadow guards behind Night Ten knelt down one by one. Their intention was unmistakable: they were begging her not to follow Feng Jinye.

Feng Jinye’s expression hardened, and he was about to bark an order dismissing them when a look from Weishao Qianyu stopped him.

She understood Night Ten’s motive. If she accompanied Feng Jinye now, he would have to divide his attention to protect her, making the confrontation with Xuanhan Ran infinitely more difficult.

Night Ten was acting in Feng Jinye's best interest. Naturally, his master's princess consort was his greatest vulnerability, and bringing that vulnerability straight into the enemy's den was an unwise move.

"Very well, I won't go."

Weishao Qianyu took a step back, her gaze dimming.

Feng Jinye had initially intended for her to stay behind, but seeing her crestfallen expression and the way she turned away, he couldn't resist pulling her into a tight embrace from behind. "Stay by my side."

He knew everyone viewed her as his soft underbelly, but few knew she was also his armor.

Besides, the blood debt of avenging her parents was irreconcilable; she undoubtedly wanted to exact revenge alongside him.

Furthermore, she had spent the entire previous night worrying over him; if she couldn't keep him in her sight, fear would surely consume her.

"I promise Qianqian, I will never leave you behind alone," he said passionately before the assembled subordinates, glaring reproachfully at Night Ten as he finished.

Night Ten had never seen his master act this way. The underlying meaning of those words was that even at the gates of hell, for the sake of the Princess Consort, his master would claw his way back if he had to.

Silently, Night Ten stood up and retreated to the side, realizing once again that the Princess Consort was indeed his master’s most impenetrable armor.

Weishao Qianyu nodded firmly, then turned to the remorseful Night Ten and instructed, "Night Ten, take the brothers from the Shadow Guard Pavilion and fall back to the Everlasting Brightness Palace. There is a side hall in the eastern corner; it will be convenient for you all to tend to your wounds there."

Night Ten paused, cupped his fists in a salute, and replied respectfully, "Yes."

Once Weishao Qianyu finished giving her orders, Feng Jinye clasped her hand tightly and strode toward the Hall of Sacred Brilliance.

Since Xuanhan Ran had claimed she was waiting for Feng Jinye, Yun Ming and the others should not be in mortal danger.

Yet, much to Weishao Qianyu's surprise, before they even stepped foot into the Hall of Sacred Brilliance, they saw Dong Nuan lying unconscious and covered in wounds at the foot of the long stone steps.

Before Weishao Qianyu could even ask, Xuanhan Ran’s piercing, murderous gaze locked onto her, an overwhelming pressure of raw malice that made it difficult to breathe.

The person Xuanhan Ran hated most at this moment wasn't Feng Jinye—it was Weishao Qianyu.

So-called Weishao Celestial Maiden—she was no daughter of the Weishao family at all, merely an imposter!

For over a decade, Xuanhan Ran had been duped by the Lu family using this fake celestial maiden. Feng Jinye must have known all along that Weishao Qianyu was not of the Weishao bloodline.

These people had played her for a fool. Today, the very first person she would kill was Weishao Qianyu; since she was no celestial maiden, she had no right to live.

She would make Feng Jinye watch Weishao Qianyu die right before his eyes, driving him to unspeakable agony.

As Xuanhan Ran’s murderous aura pressed down on them, Weishao Qianyu clenched her fists, gritting her teeth to endure the crushing weight, before suddenly lifting her chin with a smile: "Xuanhan Ran, you have lost!"

The surroundings fell dead silent. Weishao Qianyu’s voice pierced every ear, sounding like a declaration of victory.

Finding her words utterly absurd, Xuanhan Ran burst into a derisive, ringing laugh.

"You really have lost," Weishao Qianyu repeated calmly.

This single sentence choked off Xuanhan Ran’s laughter, sending a turbulent surge of blood through her chest. She loathed the word "lost" above all else.

Twenty-seven years ago, she had not lost—Xuanhan Yuan had died at her hands in the end.

Today, as long as she made Feng Jinye and Weishao Qianyu perish in this palace, she would not have lost. She had not lost.

Watching Xuanhan Ran’s hand tremble slightly as she gripped the Star Abyss sword, Weishao Qianyu knew she had struck a vital nerve, and pressed on with serene composure:

"Xuanhan Yuan gave birth to Xuanhan twins. You have lost utterly and completely!"

The declaration exploded in Xuanhan Ran’s mind. How could that be possible? After a single heartbeat of sheer shock, Xuanhan Ran realized Weishao Qianyu was bluffing, and burst out laughing once more.

Ignoring the laughter, Weishao Qianyu continued, "The blood of Huangfu Chen and Huangfu Xi simply does not mix."

Weishao Qianyu’s previous remark had puzzled everyone, but this second statement hit them like a thunderbolt, exploding in their minds.

Huangfu Chen and Huangfu Xi were identical twins!

Emotions churned in Huangfu Chen’s eyes at her words, though the fact that blood might not mix served as a grim reminder that it was his blood and Feng Jinye’s that failed to merge!

Indeed, Weishao Qianyu was bluffing.

Ignoring Weishao Qianyu’s provocation, Xuanhan Ran looked at her as if she were listening to some colossal joke.

"Huangfu Chen can master Pupil-Stealing and Shadow-Shifting; there is no doubt he carries the bloodline of the Xuanhan family. Furthermore, he is the son of Xuanhan Yuan."

"As for you, Xuanhan Ran, are you even a true descendant of the Xuanhan lineage?"

"That useless son of yours, Huangfu Xi—can he use Pupil-Stealing? Can he use Shadow-Shifting?"

"When it comes to sons, Xuanhan Ran, you have lost again."

"Across the entire realm, anyone with eyes knows that Huangfu Chen is a thousand, ten thousand times superior to Huangfu Xi. Your son cannot compare to Xuanhan Yuan's son by even a fraction..."

As Weishao Qianyu spoke on unperturbed, Yun Ming and Lu Yanran stood dumbfounded.

Huangfu Chen, however, remained indifferent.

Before Weishao Qianyu could finish, Xuanhan Ran was driven to the absolute brink of fury and roared, "Shut your mouth!"

With those three words, Xuanhan Ran flicked her wrist, channeling her energy for a lethal strike directed straight at Weishao Qianyu. But before she could move, Huangfu Chen chimed in with a cold, mocking voice: "This lord is indeed not something born of such a foul-hearted creature!"

Weishao Qianyu’s comparison between Huangfu Xi and Huangfu Chen had infuriated Xuanhan Ran to the extreme, which strongly suggested that Weishao Qianyu’s suspicion was likely eight or nine parts true.

At that moment, Huangfu Chen became thoroughly convinced that he was by no means Xuanhan Ran’s biological son. Perhaps he was merely some stray relative of the Xuanhan family she had picked up from parts unknown.